Yeah, I'm not trying to say that many of us don't have food challenges. Because I totally understand that. I just have taken it too far I believe. I know not everyone has. It probably does sound like that.

I eat more frequently also, and smaller portions than most to try and combat this thing. I don't know how some people just put it away all at once. And yeah, chewing has been a real focus for me. I sometimes forget about that too. And I have experienced having to deal with candida, how it makes you feel, how foods can mess with you, etc etc. So, I'm sorry if I'm sounding like food sensitivities aren't part of the equation. My father in law is a sugar junkie and keeps trying to tell me I need to eat more chocolate and little debbies if I want to gain weight. Well that's just stupid. I'll feel so lousy from it, that I'd be doing myself harm. That's the extreme other end though. It's funny because he has terrible health, has had cancer several times but doesn't equate it to diet at all. And maybe it's not. I think he just got to the point that he doesn't care if he eats food that might be hurting him. Mentally it makes him happy. And he's addicted to sugar. And pushes it on everyone around him. Including my kids. Anyways..... I'm going on and on today, I should let someone else talk for a while. I need to go make lunch anyways. hehehhehe

The poster formerly known as "ABNOWAY"

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8

Too many people are unhealthy due to eating garbage.I can't see how eating Little Debbiesand more chocolate can be in your best interest...although dark chocolate has it's healthy benefitsin moderation. Don't feel the need to apologize for anything JJR....You, like many of us facefood sensitivities and food intolerances.. I wound up with many food intolerances because of chronic Lyme. I guess it's just about putting everything in perspective. Each day is different...sometimesfeeling better, other times feeling worse. Although my energy level is good...my weight nota problem, it's still all about my gut....and I have to tread lightly when it comes to what I eat....I totally get it...I think we all do!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything.....they know how to make the best of everything!"

Yeah, I've yet to delve out into the foray of restaurants and that type of thing. 99.5% of everything I eat is made from these hands at home. We do eat panera every Friday night, because it's the only place that seems like it doesn't mess with me. I get a salad with turkey meat on it. Less a lot of avoids, like dressing and sesame seeds, etc etc.

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"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8

TJ, you said that you're eating enough. Well, are you sure? I thought I might have said this all in here but I've had a huge shift in thinking lately because my Pastor made something clear. If you're not getting enough calories, it's not good. He said 2000-2500 calories per day. And then I talked to my doctor about it and what not. But I hadn't really tracked my calories for a long time when my pastor brought it up. So I found a free calculator on http://www.everydayhealth.com and started tracking it.

I took your advice. I used http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/ (that other one wanted me to register to use it). I calculated 1541 so far today and that's just breakfast and lunch. Another 500 will be a piece of... um, will be easy. I eat all day. I eat when I'm bored or if I just need some stimulation. I didn't think too few calories was a problem, but it was still good to check. I have been eating plenty of grain, rice and oatmeal lately. I put butter and/or CO on everything. I will have at least one more big meal today and a couple snacks.

TJ, chronic Candida goes hand in hand with Lyme. Candida causes leaky gut too. So while we've all got gluten damage, we've also all likely got Candida damage. The reason Rob had his theory about me feeling better after running a fever is because yeasts and fungi flourish at slightly lower than body temperature.

How many of us forget to eat slowly and chew every bite? Drink fluids away from meals....breathe... exercise....or at least move around often.

Chewing has been a challenge lately. My fillings don't fit quite right. I'm going tomorrow to see if that can be corrected. Lately I've been seeing a lot of "rabbit pellets" full of undigested food particles.

This whole package is a downward spiral. Get infected -> malabsorption -> malnutrition -> low metabolism/body temp, weakened immune system -> more comfortable environment for the infection -> escalation of symptoms, ad nauseum. This is indeed a fight our bodies can't win without some outside help to break the cycle.

Wow!!! What did you eat for lunch and breakfast to get you that many calories????? I don't hit that until the evening right now. And I wasn't even hitting it before. But, you may need more calories than the average person, due to activity level, etc etc.

But yeah, I'm sure gut flora has something to do with it. Biofilms, etc.

The poster formerly known as "ABNOWAY"

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8

I haven't been active lately, laying in bed or sitting in front of the computer all day with this "cold". For breakfast, I had a large banana, about 1/3 c. each of macadamias and almonds, and a medium apple, with some cranberry-blueberry juice blend. For lunch, I had my turkey stew (about 1 1/2 c) over rice (about 2 c). I cook rice 3 c dry at a time with a whole stick of butter. I just finished a bowl of rice (2 c) and canned kidney beans (1/2 c) and some watermelon (2 c) for about 685 more calories.

Oh that all sounds delicious. YUM! The calories are in the butter and nuts I see. And the rice. Where's your veggies though?

The poster formerly known as "ABNOWAY"

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8

Well, I don't mean to sound like a prude or a mother, but there are nutrients in veggies that you don't get in the other stuff. Plus, it's a lot of sugar. I always crave salty and savory to balance out the fruits. That's just me. And I feel like I totally need the roughage, or veggie fibers to keep me regular. But I got the A thing and you don't. hehehe.

ALSO, there are vegetables that are high in calories. I've found some I just love. Peas are very high in calories. I'll eat a huge bowl of them sometimes and it's like 150 calories. Throw some butter in them or olive oil, some meat or nuts and you've got quite the caloric bowl of food. Carrots are high. I just buy frozen and peas boil up in a couple of minutes. Fast food. Squashes are somewhat high. I buy cans of butternut squash and pumpkin and a half a can has like 100 calories. Again, mix it with some other things and it's getting up there.

Like Dr. D says the Talmud says "Woe the person who doesn't eat veggies". I know, I know, I sound like your mother. I'm just trying to help. I'm glad you can eat well, but you never know, throwing in some veggies might help balance out the whole deal and might make your assimilation a little better. I don't know. Just a thought.

The poster formerly known as "ABNOWAY"

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8

I have a visualization I'd like to share. I'm no graphic artist, and this was done freehand on GNU Paint (ever tried drawing with a mouse?), but hopefully it's clear enough that the point gets across.

For us to stay alive, we have to keep water in the tank. There's always a little going out (nozzle on the right) for our basal metabolism. Anything we do above just staying alive in ideal conditions is represented by the little floodgate on the left. The faucet pouring water in is everything that nourishes us. Ideally, we should be able to increase what's coming in, thereby increasing our capacity to think, act, grow, and cope with stress (represented by the water flowing out). You might also think of leaks in the tank, representing inefficiencies and wastes of resources in our metabolism.

For some of us, the gate won't open as far as it ought to (thrifty metabolism, for example), so the tank fills up and starts spilling into the overflow (we get fat). To fix the problem, we've got to get the gate working at full range again. In the short term, we could reduce the incoming water pressure, but that will just force the gate down farther.

For some of us, we've only got a trickle coming in, and/or our tank is riddled with leaks from stresses and illness over which we don't have (immediate) control. We can't afford to open the gate much. Just getting by day to day is taxing, because anything above the minimum runs the tank down to a dangerously low level, and then we have to rest while it refills -- and if some unexpected extra stress comes along, we don't have the reserve to deal with it effectively.

There's also an unfortunate group that suffers from the fatigue and diminished capacity of the second group, who also struggle with maintaining a healthy weight (imagine the overflow much closer to the bottom of the barrel).

It's not elegant or thorough, but I like visual representations of ideas -- they are easier for me to understand, and maybe for others too. I think a good way to look at Lyme disease is as a big leak in the tank!

If anyone would like to take this idea and recreate, refine, or elaborate on it, you have my blessing. I'd like to see a neater rendition of it myself.

I'm with you joe on that. Beans are high starch foods. Just like grains. With some fat and protein. But they are quite different from veggies. But I do lump green peas, not dried split peas, into veggies. In fact, that might coincide with Dr.D's lists now that I think of it. I think peas are on vegetable protein list, but whatever. That was only one of them I mentioned. Squash, carrots, parsnips, all have pretty good calorie counts for veggies. Now like cucumber and lettuce and others, got nothing. But they have nutrients that are vital. Like celery I think has like no calories, but it has quite a bit of minerals and nutrients, from what I understand.

The poster formerly known as "ABNOWAY"

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8

Regarding the illustration: it would be even better to think of this as fuel rather than water, to think of the "minimum metabolism for life" as the fuel needed to keep an engine idling, and the gate as what is needed to rev up the engine enough to do some work with it.

Peas have always been one of my favorite vegetables. I often add a handful to miso soup. Evenfrozen peas defrost very quickly if you pour boiling water on them...then i add the miso paste.

Carrots, parsnips and beets are awesome roasted.... with EVOO sprinkled on top andsome good sea salt. i can eat bowls of vegetables prepared this way. Also butternut squash...Ijust poke holes in it, place it on a baking sheet and roast the whole thing whole....When it getssoft, I just peel off the skin and pull the squash apart, leaving the seeds. Otherwise it's a verydifficult veggie to peel and chop. I like to roast everything whole....especially beets...I peelthe skin off after it's roasted...

I think the problem with learning to eat a lot of vegetables as a primary ingredient is the way we've learned to prepare them.

THe other night I took a whole rutabaga and grated it....along with an onion....squeezed out theliquid....added an egg and a little bit of rice flour...salt...and took small handfuls and squeezedthem into a muffin pan lined with individual foil muffin cup "papers"....froze the whole batchuncooked...When I want to make one...I pop it into the oven, drizzle it with EVOO and sea saltand just let it bake. Saves me from frying anything...and tastes to me like a potato pancake...the potato "latkes" at Chanukah time that I used to love so much.

Green beans are also great roasted.....add chopped garlic before they're done and removepan when garlic is golden in color.

I am really focused on vegetables...learned to love them rather than just see them as wet flavorless green stuff sitting on a plate....

Really, appetites improve greatly when you make food you love to eat!

Sorry for hijacking this thread and making it all about food.....but sometimes I think aboutthe need for everyone to find joy in something they're doing. I was never a great cook...butjust by using my imagination, I've learned to make foods I love to eat. I think that's a verygood thing for anyone trying to overcome health challenges of any kind!

Here's to getting more enjoyment from the foods you're all eating, everyone!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything.....they know how to make the best of everything!"

Regarding the illustration: it would be even better to think of this as fuel rather than water, to think of the "minimum metabolism for life" as the fuel needed to keep an engine idling, and the gate as what is needed to rev up the engine enough to do some work with it.

effective rendition.. make a few squiggles on all sides for different illness or conditions... and you are home free.. Thanks for the effort.. VISUALS are really so much better then words.. that is why I like the new little booklet (other thread) so much- few words big visuals.. simple.. and sticks in the mind longer..

Being here is invaluable, but not enough. We need ALL the Doctors. I needed them for a very small cancer spot-I could never feel!!! Please do your mammograms! Doing so saved me from cancer later on. I am grateful! Thanks for learning from my experience! I was lucky! I wish the same for YOU!

Chloe, that is super interesting about the butternut squash and acorn. I cut the acorn in half and scoop out the seeds first. But that makes sense as to how you're saying you do it. That is great!!! Yeah, roasting is one way to make veggies sing!!!!!!!!!! YUM. I made some rutabaga's the other night where I just cut the peel off and cut into cubes and stuck in a high oven with whatever else I was baking, covered with some water, and let them basically bake. They turned out perfect. Soft and the flavor is so good.

The poster formerly known as "ABNOWAY"

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8

Do you mean like sugar snap peas in the whole pod? Those are awesome. I'm not sure what "pea greens" are.

Yeah, stir fries are yummy. I haven't done too much of that lately. I need to do that again.

The poster formerly known as "ABNOWAY"

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8

I don't have too many foods I don't like, taste wise. There are a few things. Strangely enough, it's sometimes foods that are avoids.

The poster formerly known as "ABNOWAY"

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Phillipians 4:8